Villanova’s Pinkston has overcome Madison Square Garden jitters

Villanova Wildcats forward JayVaughn Pinkston (22) pushes the ball up court against Marquette Golden Eagles guard/forward Deonte Burton (30) during the second half of game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Digital First Media/ Eric Hartline)

Villanova's JayVaughn Pinkston shoots past Xavier's Jalen Reynolds during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Cincinnati on Thursday, March 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

RADNOR — Most players from New York revel in the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden. To a New Yorker the “World’s Greatest Arena,” as it is self-billed, is basketball heaven, much like the Palestra is to players from Philadelphia.

And so Villanova forward and Brooklyn native JayVaughn Pinkston has to be thrilled to be headed home, right?

Yes and no.

Pinkston is excited about playing in the Big East Tournament, which for the third-ranked and top-seeded Wildcats (28-3) begins Thursday afternoon at noon against the winner of Wednesday’s game between eighth-seeded Seton Hall and ninth-seeded Butler.

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As for playing in the Garden, we’ll let Pinkston explain.

“I really don’t like playing at the Garden,” Pinkston said. “It’s just not my thing. I hate playing there.”

Hate? Wow, that’s a pretty strong word. And before all you New Yorkers get bent out of shape, the 6-7, 240-pound junior has a reasonable explanation for not being overly excited about playing in the Garden.

“I thought I had to go out there and had to score because I was playing in front of my family and my home crowd,” Pinkston said.

It’s a common malady, one Villanova coach Jay Wright knows all too well because he saw it before. In his early years on the Main Line, when most of his recruits were from New York or North Jersey, Wright worried about how the likes of Randy Foye, Allen Ray, Jason Frasier and Curtis Sumpter would react when they went back to New York.

Wright had the same concerns when Mike Nardi played at Rutgers, and when Scottie Reynolds, Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson played in Washington D.C. Wright used to have the same worries about Pinkston, and he had a reason to feel uneasy.

Pinkston’s first three games at the Garden weren’t exactly stellar. He averaged 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.

“He was a basket case,” Wright said.

However, that’s not the case anymore. Pinkston doesn’t get all worked up about playing in the Garden, like he did as a freshman and the first part of his sophomore year, and the numbers show it. In his last four games in New York, Pinkston is averaging 16.25 points, 8.25 rebounds and is shooting 45.8 percent from the field.

“Now that I’m older and more mature, I try to go out there and do the little things and the scoring will happen,” Pinkston said.

Wright agrees.

“I don’t worry about him anymore,” Wright said. “This year, when we played St. John’s, he was really good, which made me feel that he had grown out of that.”

Pinkston had 10 points and 15 rebounds in Villanova’s 74-67 victory over the Red Storm Jan. 11. Pinkston scored eight of his points in the second half as the Wildcats rallied from a 33-31 halftime deficit. Four of those points came during a 9-1 run in the second half that extended Villanova’s lead from 58-56 to 67-59. The Red Storm never got closer than four the rest of the game.

“It’s a sign that he’s grown up,” Wright said. “The first couple of years I used to think about how he would react up there a lot, but until you brought it up, this is the first time I’ve thought about it, but I’m not worried because I know he can handle it.”

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NOTES: This is third time the Wildcats have been the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. The Wildcats lost to Georgetown in the 1982 championship game and to Boston College in the 1997 final. Villanova won its only tournament title as the No. 2 seed with a 94-78 win over No. 1 Connecticut in 1994. The Wildcats are 29-33 all-time in the Big East Tournament, 10-12 under Wright.